Sadia Hameed is a frontline professional, working as a spokesperson for the Council of Ex Muslims of Britain. She has work in the violence against women sector, with a focus on Black Minority Ethnic women for the last 10 years.

Determined to tackle “honour” based violence within her county, Sadia not only challenges community members, but also those from outside the community who remain silent about the abuse. Sadia independently campaigns to raise awareness about the issues within her county and to look for ways to ensure that local victims and survivors of “honour” based violence are safeguarded and supported. Sadia launched Gloucestershire Sisters, a new organisation to support victims and Survivors of harmful traditional practices in her county to bridge the gap between BME women and services.

Not only is Sadia is breaking new ground, by tackling “honour” based violence locally in her county; her actions also have wider significance for the national movement to end harmful traditional practices. Despite the statistics, which demonstrate that “honour” based violence has been reported in every single police force across the country, far too often the Government and decision makers focus only on the bigger cities in terms of specialist services and education about harmful traditional practices, failing victims and Survivors elsewhere across the country. Sadia’s refusal to accept these failings, is helping to demonstrate that no victim or survivor, must ever be left behind, wherever they live.

Abstract:

In countries where sexual purity, shame and modesty have become a commodity to barter over, how do such societies then create avenues for prostitution, not only to exist, but thrive, how do these ideas then cross borders and come to the shores of Europe? We will explore a couple of the present trends in South Central Asia today, the Devadasis and temporary wives.

Sadia will be involved in the following FiLiA sessions:Sex and the Citadel: Gender, Sexuality and Religious Fundamentalism (Sunday Morning)Sexual Exploitation of Women: where Misogyny and Racism meet (Saturday Afternoon)